Fence, Barn, and Goat questions

[horseheart]

We are having mesh fence put up around our house for our dogs (and crazy neighbor) You can read about it at http://heartofwisdom.com/heartathome.

While I'm fencing, I'm also having a new area fenced outside the barn to use as a dry lot. This is our first year in this house and my horses got way too fat from the spring grass.

Right now the horses have full access to 10 back acres. I drew an image of our property See

http://heartofwisdom.com/images/dogs/propertylg2.jpg

The area in from of the barn was all weeds. Last week we had it bush hogged. I drew red lines where I want to put new fence (and gates).

1. Problem. Land from the large barn to the small barn slopes with the low part near the small barn. If I make this the dry lot will mud run into the small barn? Maybe the area above the paddock should be the dry lot? I don't want to tramp through mud.

2. I'm turning the back half of the large barn (now empty) into stalls and area to hitch the horses for driving. The large barn does not have a door. Funds are limited. Should I just put up gates? Any other suggestions?

3. Once we finish the new fenced area I plan on putting in a few goats with the minis. How will they do? I see them together so I assumed OK. How shall I introduce them?

Thanks for any help-- I am green.

Robin

 

[rosaroca]

I'll give my opinion on your questions:

1: Dry lots WILL wash and get muddy. Put yours on the flattest ground you have and somewhere, preferably, that you don't have to go through it each time to get to the barn.

2: I don't have barn doors, either, and I prefer it that way most of the year. Gates provide more light and ventilation, and more view both for you and the horses.

3: My minis all live with Pygmy goats. Just don't introduce them in a tiny area where, if the goats get chased the first day or two, they'll get trapped in corners. And, have GOOD fences! Goats can squeeze through, crawl under, or climb over lots of fences. And, if they have horns, they'll get them caught when they push their heads through to graze, so keep bolt cutters or wire cutters handy to get them free. And remember that the goats will eat grain with your horses unless you feed them separately. Not a problem unless you have agressive goats or timid horses!

Hope this helps!

Pat

We are having mesh fence put up around our house for our dogs (and crazy neighbor) You can read about it at http://heartofwisdom.com/heartathome.

While I'm fencing, I'm also having a new area fenced outside the barn to use as a dry lot. This is our first year in this house and my horses got way too fat from the spring grass.

Right now the horses have full access to 10 back acres. I drew an image of our property See

http://heartofwisdom.com/images/dogs/propertylg2.jpg

The area in from of the barn was all weeds. Last week we had it bush hogged. I drew red lines where I want to put new fence (and gates).

1. Problem. Land from the large barn to the small barn slopes with the low part near the small barn. If I make this the dry lot will mud run into the small barn? Maybe the area above the paddock should be the dry lot? I don't want to tramp through mud.

2. I'm turning the back half of the large barn (now empty) into stalls and area to hitch the horses for driving. The large barn does not have a door. Funds are limited. Should I just put up gates? Any other suggestions?

3. Once we finish the new fenced area I plan on putting in a few goats with the minis. How will they do? I see them together so I assumed OK. How shall I introduce them?

Thanks for any help-- I am green.

Robin

 

[Miniv]

Yes....anywhere there is a slope, water will flow. Even if you keep the area up and off the small barn in grass, you still may have puddles in front of your barn. Two things to suggest........Create gutters on your barn roofs and dry wells in specific locations. You may also want to place troughs in strategic places where your gutters can feed them during rainy seasons. (This is a plan we have for our own barn.)

We've never had a problem introducing a goat or goats in with our minis. We currently have a buck roaming between two different groups......We don't have fencing to keep him contained, but he keeps himself in with the two areas. Some people say that they have trouble with goats chewing on their horses' tails, but we haven't had that happen. The only other concern is with feeding. Some horse feeds are NOT good for goats and visa versa.

 

[horseheart]

Thank you much for your help. I remember my last home tromping thru a lot of mud and don't want the mistake again.

Robin

 

[Marty]

Land from the large barn to the small barn slopes with the low part near the small barn. If I make this the dry lot will mud run into the small barn?

It most likely will. The best thing to do is to get out there and watch the way the water runs when you get a good hard rainstorm with your unbrella and see what it does. That's what we did and then we took pictures of it for reference. We did a heck of a lot of bulldozeing and ditching around here to prevent and barn flooding, plus it was built on a pad 5 feet high. Nothing worse than a floating barn. I also got tired of slipping on my butt in the mud so that's why the gravel paths all over the place.

Should I just put up gates?

Depends on which way your barn is heading. Like I said I don't like a floating sopping wet barn so if you get driving winds and rain in there, yes barn doors would come in handy. I rarely close mine as I like lots of air flow but in winter, I don't want the elements blowing like crazy through the barn. We get some serious high winds up here on the mountain at times.

Once we finish the new fenced area I plan on putting in a few goats with the minis. How will they do? I see them together so I assumed OK.

Can't help you there but good luck.

We are having mesh fence put up around our house for our dogs (and crazy neighbor)

I used to have one of those. He finally died. I read about your problem and all I can say is your police department seems like they aren't taking this seriously enough. That guy is a loose cannon. People like that are notorius for throwing poison meat over the fence so don't let those dogs out of your sight and be careful. On the flip side, we have a neighbor's new lovely beagle dog here the past two months barking his head off all night long and I mean all night long every single night and we can't hardly get any sleep. I almost landed on his doorstep at 2:00 am last week or so mad as heck but decided to wait until morning to go talk to him. He finally let the dog inside the garage to sleep. Don't get me started on the Great Pyrs up the road.......